"I'm really too old to be in controversy" - When Serena Williams made peace with Dominic Thiem after French Open press conference drama
A few years ago, Serena Williams said that she spoke to Dominic Thiem regarding the whole press conference controversy at the 2019 French Open.
During that tournament, Thiem was in the middle of his post-match press conference when he was asked to leave the room to make way for Williams. Thiem later reportedly accused the American of having a "bad personality" in an interview with Eurosport Germany.
"It is a matter of course. It also shows bad personality in my opinion. I am 100 percent sure Federer or Nadal would never do something like that," Thiem said.
Serena Williams was asked to comment on the matter in an interview ahead of Wimbledon 2019, and she said that she herself "begged" to be put in a small room. The American also stated that pulling Thiem out of the press conference room was rude.
"Yeah, I asked them to put me in the small room. I begged them to put me in the small room, and they didn't. I said, Listen, I can come back. I'm just going to go back. They're like, 'No, stay here.' They pulled him out. I was like, 'You guys are so rude to do that,' quote-unquote, that's what I said. The next day I had a bad personality. Literally that's what happened," Williams said.
The American added that she spoke to Thiem about the incident because she was "too old" to be involved in any controversy. She also said that the Austrian told her he did not use the words "bad personality" and that the media mixed up his words.
"Actually stuck up for the guy, so, I don't understand how I got a bad personality for telling them what they did was wrong to him. But we spoke about it. I've always liked him. I still like him. He's a great, like, player. I mean, he's unbelievable," Williams said.
"I'm really, quite frankly, too old to be in controversy. That's why I just wanted to clear the air. I'm like, Dude, I told them that it wasn't right what they did. He said he didn't say 'bad personality,' that you guys mixed up his words. It's all good. That's literally what happened," she added.
Serena Williams has more Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era than any other woman
Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles during her illustrious career, which is more than any other woman in the Open Era.
The American won her maiden singles Grand Slam in 1999, triumphing at the US Open by beating Martina Hingis in the final. Williams went on to win the New York Major another five times.
She won seven titles at both Wimbledon and Australian Open, while triumphing thrice at the French Open.